US Senate 'drops amendments' that made F-16 sale to Türkiye conditional

Two amendments introduced by Democratic Senators Bob Menendez and Chris van Hollen making potential F-16 sales to Türkiye contingent on a series of conditions were removed from the Senate version of the annual US defence spending bill, Anadolu Agency reported.

The Senate convened on Tuesday to finalise the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill, which includes the 2023 defence budget.

Nearly 900 amendments submitted for inclusion in the bill continue to be discussed. No votes are scheduled until November 14 when the chamber re-convenes following a break for the US midterm elections.

According to information obtained from congressional sources, the amendments presented by Menendez and van Hollen were dropped from the bill, the news agency reported.

After the Senate passes the NDAA, it will be made into a joint text with a previous version passed by the House of Representatives before it is sent to US President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.

A similar amendment to those put forward by Van Hollen and Menendez, which sought to impose conditions on Türkiye's F-16 purchase, was added to the House of Representatives version of the NDAA bill, but these additions are expected to be removed in the joint text.

An approximately $6-billion deal would include the sale of 40 newly built F-16V fighter jets and modernisation kits for 80 F-16 C/D models that the Turkish Air Forces has in its inventory.

READ MORE: Biden administration: F-16 sale to Türkiye in US, NATO interests

Limitations

The amendments sought to impose several restrictions on the sale of F-16s and modernisation kits to Türkiye, including requiring the president to inform Congress of "concrete steps" he has taken to ensure the warplanes "are not used by Türkiye for repeated unauthorised territorial overflights of Greece or military operations against United States allies," including Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). 

The amendment put forward by van Hollen pointed in particular to a militia group led by the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, a designated terrorist organisation in Türkiye, the US and EU. The US has partnered with the YPG-led SDF in its efforts to counter Daesh in northeastern Syria, drawing Ankara's anger in a major strain on bilateral relations.

Türkiye has been conducted several anti-terror operations against YPG/PKK in Syria and Ankara sees no difference between the group and Daesh.

Türkiye also conducted an anti-Daesh operation in Syria where it neutralised thousands of terrorists there. US has partnered with YPG/PKK in Syria in the fight against Daesh terror group. 

The amendment also makes any transfer contingent on Ankara ratifying Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership bids.

It is stated that the diplomatic efforts of Türkiye in Washington were effective in this change in the Senate.

READ MORE: Erdogan: Current pace could take Türkiye-US trade volume to $100B